Since getting elected with the support and money of the LGBT community, Obama has done little more than pay lip service to LGBT issues. He has consistently refused to support Gay Marriage (supporting only “civil unions”). In the more than a year that the Democrats have controlled the White House and Congress, the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) - banning gay marriages from being federally recognized – has not been repealed, and the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would federally ban employment discrimination against LGBT people, has not been enacted. Even Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) - which bans LGBT people from openly serving in the military - has been slightly weakened but has not been repealed.

Being an LGBT person means facing discrimination in the workplace, bullying at school and in many cases from family members, not being able to marry your loved one legally, and being faced with higher rates of suicide and homelessness (between 20 and 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT).

On October 11, over 100,000 people joined the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. to demand full equality under the law for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people nationwide. It was the largest demonstration for LGBT rights in over a decade, and according to veteran gay rights activist David Mixner, it represented “the coming of age of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement.”

When Proposition 8 took away same-sex marriage rights in California last November, it was the last straw. Almost overnight, there was a major explosion of protest and activism for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality. New activists breathed new wind into the sails of the movement.

These days, our society claims to promote tolerance, yet LGBT people still face outrageous and systematic oppression.

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals continue to face glaring discrimination while being denied many rights, the Obama Administration has done almost nothing. LGBT activists have taken matters into their own hands, calling a National Equality March on Sunday, October 11 in Washington, D.C.

Frustrated by the inaction of the Obama Administration and unwilling to continue to accept their oppression and second-class status, gay rights activists have called for a National March for Equality in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, October 11. There is the potential for this to be one of the largest demonstrations for LGBT rights in U.S. history, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to D.C., if a bold lead is given.

Something unremarkable happened on June 27, 1969 in Greenwich Village in New York, an event which had occurred a thousand times before across the U.S. over the decades. The police raided a gay bar.

On Tuesday, May 26, in a 6-1 ruling, California’s Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage. In response to this ruling and the continued discrimination faced by LGBT people across the country, activists have called for a National March for Equality in Washington, D.C. the weekend of October 10-11 to demand full, equal rights for all LGBT people.

Forty years ago, the now-famous Stonewall riots took place. These riots marked a turning point in the battle for rights for LGBT people.

The election-day passage of California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage, was a setback for marriage equality and LGBT rights. Rather than demoralizing the movement Prop 8 catalyzed a massive explosion of outrage. Eleven days later, over 130,000 people in at least 213 different cities streamed into the streets on November 15 for one of the biggest days of protest for gay rights in U.S. history.

The passage of a ban on same-sex marriage in California has sent shockwaves throughout the country. Since then, thousands have taken to the streets to protest this reactionary measure, with many protests planned for the coming days.

The California Supreme Court’s recent decision to over-turn the state law that banned same-sex marriage is another step forward in the struggle for sexual minorities to win full civil rights.

A leaflet produced by Socialist Alternative for this year's Gay Pride festivals and marches

The Moscow city authorities banned the Pride march planned for 27 May and the courts upheld this ban. A conference of Russian and foreign LGBT activists in Moscow on the eve of the planned march had a lot of discussion on tactics. The main dispute was whether the gay pride march should go ahead.